


Audited

by BleedingCoffee



Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: Innuendo, M/M, Reuse of canon material to suit my ship needs, ask meme audit, cursing, fluffy relationship stuff, jack and Nathan are getting audited, jack/nathan - Freeform, the usual, until I decide it needs a dash of convoluted timeline resets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22754998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingCoffee/pseuds/BleedingCoffee
Summary: Warren Hughes, the relationship auditor, is in town to evaluate Jack and Nathan.
Relationships: Jack Carter/Nathan Stark
Comments: 19
Kudos: 189





	1. A Question of Faith

**Author's Note:**

> AN: There was a Ask Meme I found on Tumblr with a bunch of questions about your OTP that I thought would be fun to work into the relationship auditor episode. Another little warm-up exercise that wasn’t supposed to get this long or complicated as it did. However, I started editing it for a Valentine’s Day fic and here we are: It’s too late for Valentines day and ten times the length it started out as.
> 
> It’s complete and will be posted in two parts: The title is for both meanings of the word--- an audit of the relationship as well as an audit of a course of study for no credit.

_ Audited _

Chapter 1

**A Question of Faith**

* * *

  
  


“How does this work?” Jack asked and sat down on the couch beside Nathan and looked at the visitor who was seated comfortably in the recliner with a clipboard. The 'relationship auditor', Warren Hughes, looked like that guy from the  _ Princess Bride _ , the one that got poisoned. Apparently, before they could officially date, they needed a stamp of approval from the D.O.D. which was delayed because, well, it was the government. So here they were, five months after they started dating, asking permission to see each other. The government was dumb, he was no stranger to that concept, however they were going to fill out the paperwork and do the right thing. They were at Nathan’s place for the interview since he didn’t trust S.A.R.A.H. to not intervene. 

“Well, usually I follow you around to see how you work together but since I have already dealt with Dr. Stark,” Warren Hughes paused and looked at the smiling scientist and then back to the Sheriff. “I thought I’d start with a questionnaire and see how different this relationship is from the last one I audited. So, let’s start..shall we?”

“As you wish.” Jack said and felt the couch move as Nathan stopped himself from reacting to his answer. Yeah, he wasn’t the only one who saw the uncanny resemblance!! 

"Who made the first move, and how?" Warren asked.

"Me." Nathan answered. "He’s a flirty idiot who didn't realize he was flirting or I was taking off my shirt for him."

"Technically neither did _you_. We really didn't realize what this was for a while." Jack said and got an eye roll in response. "Don't lie! I thought you were taking off your shirt to intimidate me with your stupid perfect body and show off what your wife had access to and you kinda thought that was the point too!"

"I was game for either." Nathan shrugged. "Seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"Take off your shirt? Unzip your pants!? _To test for dehydration_!?" Jack snorted. "Your _ego_ said it was the right thing. Your brain said you should have just rolled up your sleeve for a blood draw." 

"You can't even handle that." Nathan shot back. 

"You have amazing forearms as well. I have never denied that." Jack said and almost reached over to rub said forearm, but figured the act of affection would look unprofessional. "What exactly was the question again?"

"Who made the first move and how?" Warren repeated.

"Nathan did." Jack answered and saw his boyfriend grin like it was some kind of victory for him. _Ass._ "We really didn't know we had _a thing_ though. We just thought it was a _thing_ that was more a 'fuck that guy!' instead of....'I want to fuck that guy!'."

"What changed your mind?" Warren asked as Dr. Stark rolled his eyes at that comment but still had a smile on his face. Sheriff Carter was very animated and very honest and brought out a side of Dr. Stark that he hadn't seen before. This interview was nothing like the Stark-Blake one. He jotted down some notes.

"Well, he kissed me?" Jack said and rubbed the back of his neck. 

"With consent?" Warren prodded.

Jack snorted. "Yeah, cause Nathan Stark is _ all about _ asking permission..."

Nathan groaned. 

Jack quickly added. " _Permission_ to come aboard this  _ ship _ we have. Haha. OTP, like my house...I mean, _ like we say in _ my house. What  _ my kid _ likes to say.”

Nathan shut his eyes and shook his head. First damned question and Jack was already stumbling over himself. He should have coached him but he thought it would be too obvious.  _ Just answer honestly, Jack. Have some faith. _ He had been an idiot to tell him that. 

Jack could tell these were the wrong answers so he just blurted out, “I also kissed him back and said I was _definitely_ into what he was offering access to."

"Right. Next question.” Warren wrote down some notes. “Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?" 

There was silence as they looked at each other and Jack cleared his throat and said, "Uh…"

"Well it's clearly _not me_." Nathan said flatly.

" _ Really _ ?" Jack turned his upper body so he could throw his hands up without smacking Nathan.

"Who wanted to stay home and eat beer and Coco Puffs after we had a fight?" Nathan asked leaving out the part about S.A.R.A.H. and the hostage situation that resulted because of that almost break-up. .

"Ok, so yeah. It might be me." Jack said and returned to sitting forward and then slumped into the couch a little.

"So no insecurities whatsoever, Dr. Stark?" Warren asked.

"That wasn't the question.” Nathan said with a curt smile. “It was ‘who is the most insecure?’. Already answered."

"Then, how do you make Jack feel better?" Warren queried.

Nathan felt Jack fidget next to him and didn't bat an eye as he said, "Sex."

Jack closed his eyes. "I'm not that shallow, he's just really good at appreciating…."

"I make him feel better." Nathan said and smiled.

"Oh God.” Jack pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “We are  _ so _ failing this test."

"Why? Because you have a healthy sex life?". Warren asked. "It's good for couples to find comfort in each other and satisfy needs."

Nathan smirked at Jack. He  _ told him _ he knew how to win over the auditor.

"Who is the most romantic?" Warren continued.

"Me!" Jack said. "I'm the one who makes him come home when he works late. Rubs his shoulders when he is stressed. Brings diner when he works late. I let him drive."

“Do you let him speed?” Warren asked.

Nathan cleared his throat before Jack could say anything. “I would like it on record that I feel I am more romantic.”

“This isn’t a competition.” Jack said.

“You’re wrong.” Nathan replied and Jack narrowed his eyes at him, trying to get a feel if this was a genuine disagreement or if he was starting an argument to avoid the speeding question. 

“Why? Because you make dinner? You like taking your shirt off? Is it because of the baseball simulator?”

“No, I think you’re confusing ‘horny’ with ‘romance’.” Nathan clarified.

“Just because those things usually end up with you getting turned on is no reason for you to dismiss my romantic efforts, thank you very much.” Jack countered.

“I watch National League baseball with you.” Nathan said. “Even though I think letting the pitcher swing a bat is a stupid idea.”

“That’s your definition of romance?” Jack asked with a laugh. “You  _ whining _ about the wasted at-bat and the lack of designated hitter every time the pitcher comes to the plate?” 

“Dinner is always scheduled with ample time to get you home for the game. I made that baseball simulator A.I. so you could play against the famous players of past and present. I make you dinner, just plain steak with potatoes, and I go out with you on calls so we can spend time together doing your job.”

“One...I didn’t realize that was on purpose I just thought you were being controlling with your schedule." Jack said and started counting on his fingers. "Two, I love that simulator even if you refuse to use the real image of Shoeless Joe Jackson in favor of hot Ray Liotta from Field of Dreams. Three, real beef and potatoes are a delicacy and maybe you should try it if you could lay off all the damned spices and sauces and stuff. Cows taste good. Four….it’s kinda  _ your _ job to stop your scientists from making me go out on those calls even if I really do like working with you too.”

“Good. We agree I’m more romantic and you’re the one motivated by your insatiable lust for me.”

“Hey!” Jack said and watched Warren write something down . “Hey! I did not agree! I do stuff that I think he’d like!!”

“Yeah,  _ you do _ .” Nathan flashed a smile that said he was sexually pleased with Jack’s decisions.

“More than that!” Jack said. “Stop making me out to be only into you because of your body!”

Warren quickly asked, “Then who can’t keep their hands to themselves?"

"Jack." Nathan said and grinned. 

“Oh God.” Jack said and shrank into the couch. 

"Who said ‘I love you’ first?"

"Haven't...said that yet.". Jack admitted. "Cause we have to have permission from the government to keep dating long enough to see if we can make it that far. Which is not looking promising since I sound like a pervert."

"Who would you ask if you ever had a threesome?" Warren decided to go for rapid questions to avoid them derailing the conversation with their witty banter.

"Ally." They replied in unison.

"What do you get up to on a night out?" Warren lobbed the next one at them before they could think about their answer.

"Each other." Nathan replied with a wicked grin. 

"What do you like in bed?" Warren asked and wondered if he picked up the right questionnaire when he left his office.

"Each other." Jack answered and grinned, feeling like maybe this was looking a little better for them.

Warren check off the last question and moved to the next. "What is the most embarrassing thing you have done in front of each other?" 

"That's classified." Nathan said firmly. "I'm not divulging facts about GD projects for this. Your clearance is _not_ high enough."

Jack cocked his head. So...which project was embarrassing for him? The Stark army or the Artifact...or Callister?

"What is your answer, Jack?" Warren asked.

Jack realized his look was eaten up by the auditor guy but it didn't matter. He pointed to Nathan. "Same projects. Can’t tell you."

"What two songs, two books and two luxury items do you take to a desert island?" Warren read that and looked up at them. Stark reacted, predictably, like the question was idiotic. Carter seemed excited to answer.

Nathan rolled his eyes but Jack immediately barked. " _ Africa _ by Toto and  _ Living on a Prayer _ by Bon Jovi.  _ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy _ and _ Shakespeare's Sonnets _ . Lube and beer."

Nathan shook his head. "I think this question is ridiculous and belongs in Zoe's  _ Teen Vogue _ magazine."

"Shut up. I love how you got all into singing  _ Africa _ when you were driving on Old Post Road when it came on the radio. Your voice is amazing. I felt that in my soul! Now you can do it, naked and on the beach and then do me." Jack said and leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. “You also sang _Living on a Prayer_ while we were going skinny dipping in Lake Archimedes and I will never forget it. You. Naked. Belting out a song on the boat dock. Your voice carrying across the water and echoing off the trees and fog. God….you really are the more romantic one.”

“Yeah.”

“I  _ am _ the horny one.” Jack said and shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

“Yup.” Nathan grinned at him as he made an array of faces. "So that leaves me to choose the luxury items to get us off the island so you can use your choices to make a vacation of it?"

"Yes. This fucking town owes me a vacation and this town works for you so...." Jack said and licked his lips. “Get ready to serenade and seduce me and then save us both.”

"Fair enough.” Nathan sighed. “I’ll need more details about the island. What happened to put us there and the reason we are limited to songs, two items and two books. What are the songs stored on? Why are we only equipped with two books and two items? Are the books physical or electronic? Do we carry the items in or are they found on the island? I can’t possibly formulate an answer without knowing the conditions that put us in that situation.”

Warren sighed. He expected that from Stark and instead of replying he just skipped to the next question. “What do you hide from one another?"

"He hid the remote and I hid his tablet. It’s stuffed in the couch somewhere." Jack answered and felt around and shoved his hands between the cushions. 

"He means _emotionally_." Nathan rolled his head over and gave Jack his ‘you idiot’ look. Though it was done out of affection now and Jack bit his lip adorably in response.

"Ah...is this really a group question? Seems a little...bad to talk about this in front of each other?” Jack fidgeted.

"What are you hiding?" Warren asked curiously.

"I'm not really in the place to unload all my baggage right now." Jack replied and pulled the remote out of the armrest. “You’re also not a therapist and I don’t want to hear about my entitlement issues or immaturity.”

"Nor do I. Next question." Nathan seconded.

“You don’t get to skip questions.” Warren informed him.

“We do when it requires doctorates you don’t have.” Nathan said. “Next question.”

Warren shrugged, he wasn't wrong. "What first changed when it started getting serious?"

"I didn’t have to shower on the lawn anymore…” Jack said and then shut up. That sounded bad. Public nudity and the director abusing his power and undermining local law enforcement was bad.

“Everything.” Nathan replied honestly. “The way we treated each other because we realized there was a lot of unresolved sexual tension. The way the town treated him because now he was good enough to be my boyfriend instead of Sheriff 111. The way the accidents at GD decreased because they feared injuring the guy I was dating.”

“OK, that’s not true.” Jack said and Nathan cocked an eyebrow at him. “Don’t give me that ‘Don’t be stupid’ look. Yeah, we started dating and we realized our draw to each other wasn’t jealousy...but we still argue the same. Our work relationship hasn’t changed, we just realize we’re being playful with each other now. The town treats me differently because you’re different, you’re nicer now. Accidents at GD are down because you’re not as bitchy.”

“Everything has changed.” Nathan reiterated. “For the better.” 

“That’s not what you said.” Jack pouted.

"When do you realize you should get together?" Warren asked and put his clipboard on his lap in order to lean closer to watch their faces soften and their defenses lower.

"He kissed me." Jack said with a smile and he felt his cheeks flush. Stupid, but the memory of that kiss still made him feel things.

"He was trying to make me jealous and it worked." Nathan explained. His voice was quieter now as he thought about that night at the Lise Meitner dance. Watching Jack kiss Ally, watching the copies of himself march in to pull them apart and the nanites fall apart. Then standing up to kiss Jack in the aftermath of it all….because it made him realize who he was jealous of. He felt his neck flush with heat as he recalled the intensity in which Jack kissed him back.

“When one has a cold, what does the other do?” Warren asked.

"Take meds." Nathan scoffed. “Or spend two days convincing someone he’s sick and put the meds in his burger so he’ll eat them, like he’s a damned dog.”

“You  _ what _ ?!” Jack said and Nathan shrugged. 

“I take care of you when I can. Can’t stop you from running into a second sun or a wormhole, but I can secretly dose you with approved medication from your doctor to cure the common cold.”

“That’s sorta...wrong. Well intentioned but..not sure how I feel about that.” Jack grimaced. 

“You feel better.” Nathan said. “Consider it a win.”

“When you watch a film what do you choose and why? Who gets the final vote?”

"Zoe picks." They replied in unison. 

“When the zombie apocalypse comes, how do you cope together?”

"Ask who started it because you know it was one of….." Jack stopped when Nathan glared at him. "I mean... we save the world. Together."

" When you find a time machine, where do you go?"

“1947.” Jack replied and Nathan gave him a weird look. “What!? You looked super hot in a World War Two uniform for Founder’s day. I saw the picture, Kevin showed it to me.”

“Time travel is illegal.” Nathan said through gritted teeth, indicating it was a trick question. 

"Oh." Jack said and rubbed his neck. Of course they had a time machine in Eureka somewhere and this was a question of how they might abuse it. 

Warren wrote down some notes and then asked, “When you fight, how do you make up?”

"Sex." Nathan said. 

"Stop answering that way! It makes us seem really one dimensional."

"It's the truth. Arguing turns us on."

"Worse!. That sounds  _ worse. _ "

"I apologize with my tongue." Nathan said proudly.

"Way worse!" 

“My mouth gets me into trouble, I let it get me out of…” Nathan said and Jack clamped a hand over said mouth. 

“Stop.” Jack said and Nathan's eyes were purely mischievous and then he licked the palm of his hand! The bastard!

“Where did you go on your first date?” Warren asked as Carter took his hand pack and wiped it on his pants.

"Cafe Diem. Whole town watched him kiss me. I kissed him back. We figured let's just do this out in the open. Plus there is only one restaurant in town." Jack replied. Nathan was _licking_ him in an interview, how was that professional? If they were at a table he would be running his hand up his leg. What was he the immature horny one when Mr. 'I'll make them shit their pants with my booming voice' Stark was trying to get him into trouble? 

“Where do you go on holiday?”

"We stay here because it's our town? Our jobs to protect it?" Jack answered. 

  
  


“Where do you get nervous about going with one another?”

"Here. With you." Jack said emphatically. "Also student teacher conferences because he makes Tesla teachers cry."

"I'll go anywhere with him." Nathan said. "He only makes me nervous when he sprints into danger without concern for his well being."

“Where did the first kiss happen?”

"Lise Meitner dance." Nathan said hoping to cut Jack off from an inevitable story about nanites and divorce papers and a dead IT guy. Oh and global domination.

“Where is your favorite place to be together?” Warren kept writing. These two were nothing like he was anticipating. 

"Eureka." Jack said. 

“His house.” Nathan answered and Jack looked surprised. “It’s warm and chaotic, I enjoy being part of your family.” 

“Where do you first have sex?” Warren frowned. Some of these questions seemed...new?

“This couch.". Nathan said.

Next question, which was definitely normal. “ Why do you fight?”

"Most because of him.". Jack said and pointed to Nathan. “Science happens because  _ someone  _ pressures scientists to make it happen faster.”

“Why do you need to have a serious chat?” Warren asked and looked up to see their facial reactions.

"Because he doesn't rein in his scientists or hold them accountable?" Jack offered.

"He runs into danger without thinking it though." Nathan answered.

"Because of your scientists." Jack said. They'd go round and round on this topic forever and never agree.

“Why do your friends get annoyed with you?” Warren asked.

"Have you listened to him answer "sex" to almost half the questions?" Jack snorted.

“Why do they get jealous?” Warren noted Stark was letting Carter answer these. Interesting.

"Because he’s always talking about our sex life." Jack said. "It is amazing and so is his smile when he says it and I don't think there is anyone in this town who isn't jealous of me being with him."

"He meant, why do we get jealous  _ of each other. _ ” Nathan informed him.

"Oh." Jack scratched his head. “How do you know that? Did you write this quiz?”

"He kissed my ex-wife." Nathan answered. 

"He’s good at everything. I love it about him but I wish I was as capable here in Eureka as I was as a Marshall in all of America.” Jack shrugged. “I’ve felt that way from the beginning. He’s got the answers to everything, looks like _ that  _ and just oozes power and confidence.”

“You do realize you fix all of the town’s problems, right?” Nathan reminded him.

“And you help make them?” Jack said and got an eye roll in reply. 

“Why do you fall a little bit more in love?” Warren asked.

"I say I hate the science but I love how happy it makes him and...when he smiles at me." Jack said and rubbed his pant leg. "I love watching him solve stuff that’s impossible and it’s so easy for him." 

“When he saves this town and you prove to me I might not have all the answers.” Nathan played with his own hand, something he had avoided doing until now. 

Warren scribbled down notes. “Why does it work, or not work, between you?”

“What do you mean?” Jack asked. 

“Theoretically?” Nathan asked and Warren nodded. “He’s asking what we see as a potential reason we do, or don’t, last.”

“Because the government says we can’t date?" Jack said and threw his hands up and waved at Warren. "Is that an answer?”

“Is it?” Warren asked.

“Are you asking if I’m going to respect your decision?” Jack asked. “Or if I’ll fight for him if you say I can’t be with him?”

“It’s a question that you answer as you see fit.” Warren said and folded his hands over his clipboard. “Last question. Dr. Stark, you go first.”

“Why? Because he’s going to use statistics and probability to predict if we make it or not?” Jack asked defensively.

“Yeah. “ Nathan answered for Warren. “That’s exactly what he wants me to do. He wants me to do my own threat assessment of our relationship as a scientist, as the director of Global Dynamics.”

Jack didn’t like the way his voice sounded. “Nathan…”

Nathan ran his hand over his face. “Statistically….”

“No.” Jack said and shook his head. “You can’t treat love like it’s data. You can’t say dating is some scientific method. We’ve both been married and divorced, we know there are too many things that throw a curve ball at you that you can’t anticipate. Things we can look back on and wonder why the hell we acted that way. Love...it’s unpredictable. You can’t make this about science.”

“It’s simple math.” Nathan then added. “It’s also chemistry.”

“It’s you over thinking.” Jack said. “And we have amazing chemistry.”

“Numbers don’t lie, Jack.” Nathan said. 

Jack got off the couch and knelt down in front of Nathan, forcing him to look at him. Taking his hands in his. “What we have is incredible. I lied when I said we hadn’t gotten far enough in our relationship to determine if this is love or not. I’ve been head over heels in love with you from the day we first met and there is no way, no time, no space we don’t end up together. Here or any other universe.”

Nathan felt like the only person in the room, hell the world, right now was Jack Carter. He held his breath as Jack’s words hit him and made time stop. Jack...was in love with him?

“How can we not work? All we do is work! That’s why our marriages fell apart, ask Zoe! Ask Ally! They’ll agree. You and me, however, we work  _ great  _ together. If this guy says otherwise then you’re going to use that Nobel Prize in Math to prove him wrong because I know this town is better now that we’re together. Numbers don’t lie, Nathan.”

Nathan bent forward and kissed him to shut him up. “I love you too.”

“Then I guess we’ll figure something out to save our world if Warren doesn’t find in our favor. We always do, it’s our thing.” Jack said. 

“Well, I hate to ruin the moment…” Warren said and picked up his clipboard.

“I hear a ‘but’.” Jack said and swallowed hard.

“You clearly care about each other very much.” Warren stood up. 

“That’s good.” Jack said, but Nathan’s face said it wasn’t.

“Too much. Personal feelings are bound to get in the way of doing your jobs and I can’t approve this relationship.” Warren said sadly.

Jack turned and looked at him. “Are you  _ kidding  _ me?”

“No." Warren stared walking towards the door. "I’ll file my findings with the D.O.D. and your choices are to either terminate your relationship or resign your position.”

“I won’t do this job without him.” Nathan said sternly. “He gets results and that is not just my personal assessment.”

“We both know your pride won’t allow that Dr. Stark.” Warren said and walked towards the door. “Nor will yours, Sheriff Carter.”

Jack stood up and Nathan was instantly standing behind him. “You think we’re too proud to give up our jobs….”

Warren turned and smiled at him as he fell silent. “You answered your own question, Sheriff. You’ve both given up your marriages to have your jobs, my findings aren’t speculation. You said it yourself, this town has changed because of your relationship, you two have the power by your happiness alone to change the culture and morale of this town…”

“For the better!” Jack said and pointed at him. He must have sounded too angry, Nathan put a hand on his shoulder to squeeze and calm him. Maybe to calm himself too.

“I’m sorry gentleman, as much as I genuinely like you both I can’t ignore the fact that you’re two alpha types, who are the two most powerful men in town, and by your own admission have exclusive influence over everyone who lives and works here. My answer is a solid ‘No’ and you are welcome to appeal it.“

“Refresh my memory, Dr. Hughes.” Nathan said coldly. “Did you approve of my relationship with Dr. Blake?”

“Yes, but….”

“That compromised a lot.” Nathan said. “Our fights, me leaving, her staying….in fact I’m sure you had to approve my move back here when I took over as head of GD.”

“Yes but..”

“Knowing I left her here when I went to Washington? Knowing I didn’t talk to her for a year?” Nathan asked. “How the hell was that a risk worth taking? Or were  _ you _ too proud to admit you were wrong about Ally and I?”

“Dr. Stark, I know what you’re doing and it will not work on me.”

“I kissed Jack because he had to save the town from an army of nanites that had cloned me and were intent on global domination. Jack, this guy right here, who you think can’t work with me without being compromised. Jack who wasn’t fond of me at all and I was certainly not in a very good place because I just got served divorce papers. I was furious, I was jealous...I let it cloud my judgement and I took it out on everyone. I was certainly not worthy of being in the same room as this man more or less thinking I had the right to kiss him. I sure as hell didn’t deserve to have him kiss me back and I damned well don’t deserve his love….but against all odds I have him and I won’t let him go.”

“Then you’re going to have to make your first big sacrifice in your relationship and determine who is handing in their resignation.” Warren said and went to the door.

“Me.” Jack said. “Me. I’m the cop. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I might end up sacrificing my life and if it means my life’s work then I guess that will have to be how it is.”

“Jack…”

“The world needs you, Nathan.” Jack said and turned to look at him. “You’re the super genius that solves everything and I’m just the dumb Sheriff. I can do something else.”

“No.” Nathan said. “I won’t do this without you. I can do my work in the private sector. Fuck the D.O.D. if they think that we’re going to compromise each other. They don’t deserve either of us.”

“I can’t take Zoe away from here and you can’t leave Kevin again.” Jack said and ran his hand over Nathan’s chest. “Maybe I’ll change oil at Henry’s or help Taggart fill tranquilizer darts...I don’t know. I know we belong here. I know you belong at GD running the place. Me….I don’t need a badge to help people. I’ll figure something out.”

“I’ll fight this.” Nathan said with a shake of his head. “You’re not quitting your job.”

“There has to be a compromise somewhere and I’m always the one sacrificed. It is very much my job.”

“I will fight this.” Nathan repeated and ran his hand over Jack’s face. 

“I know you will and it’s definitely going to turn me on.” Jack said to lighten the mood. That was his job, to keep Nathan level-headed.

“So, you’ve been in love with me since day one, huh?”

Jack pressed his forehead against Nathan’s shoulder. “We got along at first, until you asked if I was fucking your wife.”

“You were in love with me?” Nathan asked. “From first introduction or first glimpse of my chest?”

“Nathan, you’re amazing. You’re gorgeous and brilliant and you work so hard….I was jealous of you. I was jealous of Ally. I didn’t know what to do with how I felt about you so I just fought you.” Jack said. “We had something from day one, it just wasn’t the right time. If you weren’t married and an asshole, I think I would have read things clearer. Trusted my gut a little more, maybe helped you button up your shirt to see if you were really into it. We had chemistry. That hospital room was crackling with energy between us and even I could see it...I just wasn’t ready.”

Nathan pressed a kiss onto his head and said. “In hindsight, I was jealous of how good you were with people. I hated how simply you could see things, how easy it was for you to win people over. I liked you, flirted, then got pissed at myself for doing it because I wanted to be territorial. Not how I expected my homecoming to be. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“This wasn’t supposed to be how this went.” Jack picked his head up and looked Nathan in the eyes. “I didn’t want to tell you I loved you in an exit interview.”

“Well, we did establish I’m the romantic one.” Nathan said and looked up as he heard the door close and realized Dr. Hughes had heard even more of that to use against them. It didn’t matter. “Get naked, get a beer and join me in the hot tub. Dodgers are playing the Giants tonight. We’ll fight this fight tomorrow, tonight is about us.”

“There’s the romance.” Jack said and cracked a smile. “OK, let me just call Zoe and let her know how things went.”

Nathan nodded and watched him take out his phone and wander out to the deck to start the hot tub and call his daughter. He took out his own phone to start making calls and see what it was going to cost him to reverse the auditor’s decision.


	2. A Question of Time

_ Audited _

Chapter 2

**A Question of Time**

* * *

Jack sat at his desk and stared at a document on his computer. It was the resignation letter he had written during his first couple of weeks in town when nothing was going right and he felt like he had been ripped out of a life he loved and sent to hell. However, a year later, it was painful to read and think about leaving this job he had come to love; a job that he had grown to love more because he worked with Nathan. 

What bothered him the most was that he wasn’t sure he could make this work because he never had before. He took a desk job when Zoe was born and that didn’t work. Nathan wasn’t going to stop working his long hours and without the Sheriff’s position he wasn’t getting access to GD. That would end up with him being the one at home waiting, the same position he put Abby in when they were married.

Haha, the irony of that!

He closed the document and sat back in his chair. He wasn’t sure what was worse: being ordered to break it off with Nathan or quitting his job and ruining his relationship eventually because he loved his job. He looked up as the door to the office opened and Henry came in. “Hey. I guess you heard about _my relationship_ being too high risk for Eureka.”

“Yeah.” Henry said and went over to sit down. “Nathan asked if I would take over GD if he quits.”

“Goddammit.” Jack said and opened the document again. He had to be the one to do this. Nathan was too good for GD, Eureka, and the world to quit his job over something like the dumb Sheriff.

Oh... _ the irony. _

“Jack, I need you both to sit tight and not do anything rash.”

“Henry, the D.O.D. is asking us to choose each other or our jobs.” Jack replied and rubbed his face again. “However they’re not the ones having the problem making the decision. I told him I loved him last night and today I can’t press send on the email saying I’m going to do what it takes to stay with him. At this point, it’s not about some auditor or the D.O.D, it’s about  _ me _ .”

“You love him?” Henry asked with a smile and Jack nodded.

“I do.” Jack played with his mouse and looked at the date on his computer. “I know, it happened a little fast but…”

“I was going to say, ‘It’s about time you figured that out'’' Henry said softly and Jack smiled and leaned back in his chair.

“Zoe said the same thing.”

“You don’t see the effect you have had on him, but the rest of us have. He was obsessed with that Artifact project but you somehow managed to stop him from throwing himself into his work. Nobody has ever had that power over him.”

“It’s because I’m the horny one.” Jack informed him and cleared his throat. 

“It’s way more than that.” Henry said and folded his hands. 

“I hope it’s not the uniform or handcuffs because I’m not going to have those for much longer.” Jack said and moved the cursor on his screen to change the date on his letter. 

“I’m serious, let me talk with the auditor and see if I can’t change his mind.” Henry said and reached over to pull the cord out of the monitor so Jack couldn’t submit his resignation.

“Henry.” Jack closed his eyes. Jo had said the same thing. His best friends were ready to fight for him and he loved them for it, but this was about him. “I appreciate it, as much as I appreciate Jo offering to kick his ass. My best friends are amazing but...the guy thinks Nathan and I care for each other too much and he’s not wrong.”

“You save lives. You and Nathan together are a good thing. A  _ great _ thing. ” Henry smacked his hand on the desk and Jack opened his eyes. His eyes were a little watery now.

“It’s just  _ a job _ .” Jack said, saying it aloud did not help him convince himself of that. He loved this job, as much as he bitched about it, it was a job he loved to do. He didn’t love it as much as he loved Nathan though, so he was going to have to sacrifice something.

“It’s more than just a job, in this town it’s the jobs that give you access to what you need in order to do the right things.” Henry said and tapped his finger on the desk, angry that the government just could not quit interfering with Eureka. 

“It’s a test. For me.” Jack said. 

“No, it’s not.” Henry said. “It’s called life; managing your personal and professional lives. The D.O.D. and one pencil pusher don’t get to pass judgement on how well you do that when the evidence is all around us of how amazing you are together. All Nathan cared about was himself and that damned Artifact and you brought him back from the edge.”

“Wow, you and Kim must really have some interesting things to talk about at dinner. I didn’t realize you were so interested in Nathan’s pet project.” Jack said as he was not as convinced that the Artifact was really _ that big _ of a looming disaster. He ran his hand over his face and thought about the absolute disaster he was facing right now. “I don’t know what to do, Henry. If I quit, I’m going to go stir crazy without a job. There aren’t many jobs here I qualify for. He quits and this place suffers and we go back to the days when it was non stop science gone wrong. I can’t keep pulling him in to help me if he steps down to be a researcher, because that’s rubbing his face in it all. We both quit, we leave here and that’s just a horrible option for Zoe and honestly us. I don’t need Nathan to lecture me on how this place is a microcosm and how Eureka is the most forward thinking place in the world, Zoe already did. I know it will be hard on us out there and I’m not avoiding it, I just don’t want to fight it if we have a great place to just be us. Plus, S.A.R.A.H. is going to be hard to move. Dammit. Everyone’s happy, why do we have to change that? I love this life we have, I love our home. I gotta change Warren’s mind about us somehow.”

“Let me do it.” Henry said.

Jack raised his eyebrows. He seemed so convinced he could pull it off. Not that he was one to doubt Henry, but the auditor guy didn’t seem like he was interested in other people’s feedback. “How?”

“I can’t tell you.” Henry said and stood up. “You’ve got to trust me.”

“Ok?” Jack said and felt more confused than ever. He was acting like the fate of the world hung upon this decision. “What do you know that we don’t?”

“Just don’t quit and don’t let Nathan quit.” Henry said with a wave. “I'll take care of the rest.”

“Ok?” Jack said and Henry left. He picked up his phone to call Nathan to see if he knew what the hell  _ that _ was about. 

* * *

  
  


“Dr. Deacon, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your choice to use me to officiate your wedding.” Warren Hughes grinned and then looked around the garage. “Where is the lovely bride to be? I'd love to hear both your thoughts on what you would like for your special day.”

“Kim is at work.” Henry said. “I heard you were in town and I thought it the perfect opportunity to ask.”

“I’m glad you did!” Warren said and rubbed his hands together. "I love weddings!"

“There was something else I wanted to discuss with you…”

“Sheriff Carter and Dr. Stark?” Warren interrupted and chuckled when Henry nodded. “Yes, I figured this would be the _perfect opportunity_ to ask about them too. My email has been exploding with personal letters from numerous doctors at Global, who are using their field of specialty and years of writing technical papers, to bombard me with reasons why I should reconsider. My favorite was the “Poop guy” who said he had handled a lot of excrement in his life but never saw a pile of shit like my assessment.”

“Well if that wasn’t enough evidence to compel you to reconsider, I would like to submit my own.” Henry said calmly and could see the man had already been pushed enough and had his defenses on high alert. It was time for Plan B.

“What I would like to see is....” Warren said and jumped as the room transformed around him into some sort of lab. He had just been standing in a car garage and it was all gone. “What the…”

“It’s a simulation.” Henry said and took a deep breath. “Of events from another timeline. From several timelines, actually.”

“Excuse me?” Warren said as they walked over to Kim Anderson who was at a podium. “This better be about your proposal to Dr. Anderson.”

Henry remained quiet and watched the hologram of Kim go over readings and check the system at the podium in the Artifact chamber. 

_ “We are at marginal proximity now.” Kim said. “No change in core temperature or ambient emissions.” _

Warren reached out and waved his hand in front of her without any reaction then he turned as he heard a voice from behind him.

_ “Let’s proceed.” Nathan Stark’s hologram said from behind the glass. _

Warren jumped as alarms went off and a door opened and he saw flames and a little robot moving towards them. He didn’t need to know what was happening to understand something serious was going on here. “What….what is this?”

Henry held up a finger and said. “The evidence.”

_ “Extreme proximity now.” Kim said, her voice raised in excitement as the robot’s probe touched the ball of flame. “Still no reaction from the Artifact.” _

_ “Moment of truth.” Nathan said, his voice soft with awe and anticipation. _

Warren looked back at the ball of fire, this was something so incredible that even Dr. Stark was excited about it. What was the orb? Was this really happening or just a simulation, as Henry had said. He watched as the robot made drilling noises and suddenly alarms went off.

_ “What’s happening in there?” Nathan demanded, his calm from moments earlier replaced by panic. _

_ “I don’t know, systems are offline!” _

_ “Get them back online!” _

_ “I’m trying!” Kim said as she kept her eyes on the computer, fingers typing furiously trying to regain control of the system. She stopped typing when she realized it was futile and they already went too far to pull back. “Oh my God.” _

The flames swirled out of the tunnel and flashed into the room, sending Warren diving for cover. Henry took a deep breath as he watched Kim die, engulfed by the Artifact explosion. Her body was thrown across the room and into the wall, where her charred corpse fused with it. Nathan was behind the glass, thrown across the other room from the power of the blast. His suit was smoking and his exposed skin bubbling and bright red from the burns, but spared Kim’s fate because of the safety glass. Henry rewound the simulation and paused it right before the explosion. “What you just watched was an explosion that killed Kim, injured Nathan and destroyed a section of GD.”

“We need to do something!” Warren said as he sat up, realizing his reaction was for nothing as soon as he saw Kim and Nathan safe again and frozen in time. 

“I did.” Henry said and pointed at Kim. “I lost her to the explosion in what I considered to be the original timeline, and I went back in time to save her. It caused the universe to unravel, which sent Jack back in time to stop me. Kim died to put things back on course.”

“Ok.” Warren said he looked at the people he had just watched die, frozen in place, and then to Henry who seemed to be struggling with his emotions. Kim was alive though. 

Henry went to the simulation lab wall and began to draw with his finger to illustrate the confusing paths of the timeline travels.. “First timeline: Artifact explodes, kills Kim. Nathan ends up severely burned and hospitalized for months. I applied for the position of GD director and got it, along with it access to the Artifact and data. I used a piece of the artifact to go back in time by transferring my consciousness into myself. I stopped Kim from dying and thus created the second timeline.” 

Warren watched him draw another line under the first, breaking off right around the notch labeled ‘artifact explosion’.

“Timeline two. I arrive in Section Five early enough to do a manual override on the power to the lab. Saved Kim. Nathan and I fight about it, he proceeds with the sampling of the Artifact himself from behind the safety glass and the same explosion ensues. Nathan is burned and eventually fired for ignoring safety protocols. He leaves for San Francisco and Jack and Allison get together. Four years later Allison is pregnant with their first child and I am head of GD. Then the fabric of space-time starts to rip apart and the universe itself is in danger of being destroyed.”

“Because you saved Kim?” Warren asked.

“Yes.” Henry said. 

“Well your relationship wasn't red flagged, but _it is now_.”

“We’re not done with our story. We have timeline number three, which is the one we are living in right now.” Henry said and drew another line, this one connecting to the original line. “Remember that in the second timeline Jack was married to Allison? Well it’s because Nathan had left Eureka after he got fired, left science for corporate life in San Francisco.”

“So Jack is supposed to be with Allison?” Warren asked.

Henry held up a finger. “Nathan came back to Eureka to help Jack stop the universe from collapsing because I refused to give up Kim. There was bitterness and tension between Nathan and Allison and I couldn’t figure it out. Upon learning what I did to save Kim, he told me that my meddling with the timeline had cost him a life here. I assumed it was with Allison and because I took over his job at GD while he was recovering. It wasn’t. It was because it  _ wasn’t _ the first time the timeline had been reset. Nathan and Allison had tampered with it before, trying to free Kevin of a connection to the artifact. There was a timeline zero which both of them had knowledge of, but had reconnected before I had gone back.”

“Oh boy.” Warren said. “Do you see why I have concerns about people with this kind of power being emotionally attached?”

Henry ignored him. “Nathan and Allison went back in time to the beginning, the first day Nathan had come back to Eureka. They needed to buy themselves a chance to untether Kevin from the Artifact and in doing so allowed it to connect to Carl Carlson instead. Kevin was saved, but it altered the timeline from what they knew and changed their lives drastically, namely their relationships with Jack Carter.”

“Ok. This is all proving that I was right. The relationships around here are causing serious issues!”

“Well, for timeline zero, Allison and Jack worked together more as Nathan took for granted Jack would fall in love with him again at the same time he did in what was what we call the original timeline. There was an incident with Fargo and the M.A.C.A.A that we don’t need to get into right now, that was the catalyst for their relationship. To limit his tampering with the past, Nathan dove into work on the Artifact since it destroyed Carlson and severing the connection to Kevin left it without a connection to the world. He thought he had time because he and Jack didn’t figure out their feelings for a year. He didn’t want to influence too much, the butterfly effect if you are familiar with that.”

“Yes. Which is why time travel is illegal.”

“Nathan focused on the Artifact to keep his mind off Jack, trying to not interfere with timeline too much and giving Jack enough interaction to keep him interested. Allison, however, spent more time with Jack as she needed to determine if events were indicating the time travel was creating a paradox. The local Sheriff was the best source of instant information as he replied to all calls and came to GD regularly for help. Jack never developed feelings for Nathan the way he did the first time as his focus remained on Allison. Nathan blamed her. Their falling out only pushed Jack and Allison closer. Nathan was never good with people and threw himself deeper into his research when he realized he was losing the life he loved. Anyhow...we come back to the original story where Kim died and I tried to save her.”

“Wow.” Warren shook his head. “I never anticipated at risk relationships to be this damaging, but yet...you’re definitely proving me wrong on that.”

“Yes.” Henry said. “But that’s not our story right now. Before we sent Jack back in time to stop me from saving Kim, he started asking questions. Jack caught on to the fact that there was something going on between Nathan and Allison and Nathan was alluding to it while not coming out and saying anything. Nathan was bitter and hostile and determined to send Jack back in time to fix all of this. Jack’s perceptive but Nathan looking him in the eye and not breaking eye contact while telling him “Everyone deserves a second chance” really sent the message home and sent him to me for answers.”

“So you agreed to include the one person who didn’t time travel in your little plan.” Warren summarized. “I mean, why not?”

“Yes. Jack always saves the day." Henry sighed. "I turned over the artifact piece and the entire project to Nathan, because I didn’t have it in me to send Jack back in time to let Kim die. With the freedom to do what he wanted, Nathan sent Jack back,  _ way further _ back than needed: to the day the Carters first came to Eureka. His intention was to reset  _ all of it _ to see if the timeline could adjust itself back to where it should be, because all of our meddling had done nothing but cause pain. In doing so, it would erase his memories and Allison’s. Mine too. Jack would remember it all though and that was a problem.”

“ _ You _ remember all of this too.” Warren said and Henry nodded.

“I do. I watched her die too many times. I realized that Jack and Nathan were the original equation and that it had been the right one. Jack couldn’t know it, if he went back in time he would want his family back with Allison since it was all he knew. He was a different man back then too, Eureka helped him grow and become the person Nathan would also change for. Even if he tried to start things with Nathan from the beginning, their nature would only push them further away from each other. They had to grow to love each other through appreciating each other’s work; through working with each other and working through their own issues.”

“What you’re telling me is they are together because you sent Jack back in time and you went with him. You pushed them together.” Warren said. “That’s why Jack has been in love with him since the day they first met, because he has had more than one lifetime to get to know him.”

“I watched them dance around it in too many lives to not push them together before it was too late. Nathan said he took the chance going back in time knowing things would not line up again to make them happen, he wasn’t expecting Allison’s interference. She didn’t do it intentionally, she didn’t set out to steal her ex-husband’s husband. It’s the chance you take when you mess with time and she fell for Jack and by the time Nathan got his head out of his work, Jack was no longer the man who bantered and flirted with him. Those two, Nathan and Jack, they’ve had chemistry between them since the moment they met. The flirting, eyes drawn to each other whenever they were in the same room, the little smiles when they saw each other...and I felt with a little help it might happen soon enough to prevent so many things from going wrong. I was right. This timeline is right. The Artifact is intact. Kim is alive. Kevin isn’t in danger. Nathan is happy and GD is flourishing. Jack’s way happier than he ever was with Allison and he’s more involved with Eureka. The world is benefiting from them being together.”

  
  


Warren watched the simulation disappear and the garage came back into view. Henry walked over to a to a tire on a machine and began to spin a tire on it. “You don’t know that this time won’t result in another disaster.”

Henry shook his head. “I can’t say there won’t be another paradox, but this time Jack was sent back to the first day he arrived. Nathan picked that starting point as the one with the highest probability of success and I trust him, even  _ that _ version of him. I knew in the original timeline, he and Jack were something special. Special enough that Nathan lost his love for science after he lost him to Allison. So, I came back with Jack and wiped his memories. He remembers the flash as a car with it’s high beams on, driving at them as they came into town. It was a device to remove his memories, not headlights.”

“So this is your evidence? The fact that you’re spinning the wheel of chance with your best friend’s love life in order to save your own?”

Henry spun the tire that was on the machine a little faster. “Jack is Nathan’s opposite in so many ways that it balances him. Nathan turns so fast that, like an unbalanced wheel, he can wear unevenly and start to pull to one side or another. Jack is the wheel weight that keeps him balanced and on the straight path.” 

“Interesting analogy from the mechanic in town. I’ll add that to my growing pile of papers being submitted in favor of Sheriff Carter and Dr. Stark’s relationship.”

Henry wasn’t done. “ _ So many  _ disasters that happened before have not been an issue this time around. People died. They do good together, they were meant to be together from the beginning before we tried to change things. The Artifact was a remnant from a universe before our own, it has knowledge beyond measure, it’s trying to restore balance to the universe too. It’s self preservation. This was the way it was supposed to be from the beginning and you...are going to ruin that. If either of them quits, if they don’t stay here together...I think the Artifact will try to correct things in order to put them back on course. That has not ended well.”

“Dr. Deacon, what you have told me is enough to send you all to prison for life _before_ you started threatening me.” Warren said and then mumbled. “Deputy Lupo already beat you to  _ that _ and clearly that is her area of expertise.”

“Just me. I’m guilty. They don’t have knowledge of any of this.” Henry said and raised his modified memory wiper device and prepared to flash Warren. He had modified it to not just take away memories, but to give them as well. “So I’ll share my memories of how things went wrong. Of my loss. Of Nathan’s confession. I’ll share them  _ with you _ .”

Warren’s was suddenly hit with a blinding flash of light. His mouth hung open, words of outrage caught in his throat, as he experienced a lifetime, no several lifetimes, of memories of Henry and his friends. It all was over in a flash, but the feeling washed over him all at once. The pain of loss, the glimpse of disaster, the admissions of selfish acts that would be done over and over again. Fear, no terror, of what awaited if things went wrong again. He looked at Henry, overwhelmed. 

“I’ll spare you what I endure, the burden of that knowledge.” Henry flipped a switch and flashed Warren again--- this time removing memories instead of projecting them. “However, the feelings will remain and I hope you can see that Nathan and Jack are supposed to be together. Together they have done so much and they are only getting started. Let them. The lesson to be learned here is meddling in other people’s lives doesn’t end well. ”

Warren blinked and wasn’t sure why he had zoned out on the conversation with Henry. He did feel different, he felt  _ conflicted _ . He felt like he wanted to cry. “Uh...you have a compelling argument, Dr. Deacon.”

“Everyone in Eureka would surely echo my thoughts.” Henry said and waited to see if Warren was going to question anything. He chose to ask a question instead, “While we’re talking about true love, I thought it would be an opportune time to see if you were still able to officiate a marriage.”

“I am.” Warren said and looked at him confused. “I thought you were a minister as well? Or are you anticipating me reversing my decision and endorsing their relationship by marrying them myself?”

“I am still a minister,” Henry said with a smile, glad the removal of memories works. “But this time I intend to be  _ the groom _ .”

“Oh wow!” Warren said. “You and Kim Anderson? I knew that relationship didn’t require an audit!”

“We were red flagged?” Henry asked, trying to act surprised.

“Yes, but I reviewed the case and saw no indications there would be an issue.” Warren said.

Henry raised his eyebrows. This system was  _ so broken. _

“I’d be happy to marry you! Have you set a date?”

“We’ve talked about it and I think we both agree that we’ve lost enough time with each other and don’t want to lose more.” Henry said. “I intend to ask her tonight if you plan to stay in Eureka a little longer?”

“I can do that. I’ll cancel my flight.” Warren said and smiled at him. “Let me know what you decide.”

“It could be a double wedding if you change your mind about Jack and Nathan.” Henry prodded.

Warren got out his phone and paused, an overwhelming feeling to review his work washed over him. “I’ll review my report today, but I have never reversed a decision.”

* * *

“Not even interested in a burger? That’s a first.” Nathan said and reached over and took a curly french fry off Jack’s plate and watched Jack play with his silverware. Cafe Diem was buzzing with the lunch crowd but Jack wasn't even paying attention to any of it. First time for that too.

“I don’t have much of an appetite.” Jack admitted and pushed the plate away and sat back in the booth seat and looked at Nathan. His soft hazel eyes were awash with worry and Jack hated to be the reason he felt that way. “Hey, I asked Fargo to get me a list of all the jobs in Eureka that were available. Stuff that wasn’t at GD so you wouldn’t be my boss.”

“Subtle. That’s one way to broadcast to the whole town we failed our audit.”

Jack winced. That explained how Henry knew so fast. “Well, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sheriff 111 failed a test.”

“Long list, was it?” Nathan changed the subject and ate another french fry hoping the act would compel Jack to start eating with him. 

“There are vacancies.” Jack said and moved his napkin around. “Remember that toxic waste truck driver that died? Well his job is still available. I have experience with that waste and also with the process involved in reducing it for transport.”

“Do you have a CDL?” Nathan asked and smiled at him, with the smile that said he knew he didn’t.

“No, but how hard can that be?”

“With your outstanding record of totaling your Jeep?” Nathan asked.

“Ok, none of those incidents were my fault.”

“The government vehicle assigned to you has sustained more damage than most battleships sunk during a war. The fact that there is even enough of that thing left to repair is a miracle.” 

Jack waved his hands. “Ok, well I wasn’t looking forward to working a manual transmission with my old shoulder injury anyway.”

“I’d hate to have your shoulder out of commission.” Nathan said and Jack grabbed a french fry.

“Shoulder, not wrist.” Jack said and gave him an admonishing look.

“I was talking about losing our star pitcher.” Nathan said with feigned innocence. “What balls were you thinking about, Sheriff?”

“There is also a need for a person to run the bed and breakfast now that Beverly is gone.” Jack said before Nathan’s grin made him blush for no good reason other than the man could toy with his emotions with just the way he smiled or smirked. 

“Which requires a degree in Hospitality Management.” Nathan informed him. Did he read _anything_? Each job listing had list of requirements, very plainly listed in bullet point format. 

“Really?” Jack said. “It’s  _ a house _ . People stay in for a few days and leave. I change the sheets and put breakfast out on the table in the morning. Be hospitable, I’m  _ very _ hospitable.”

“Your house does your laundry and makes breakfast. When you’re not at home, I do your laundry and make breakfast.” Nathan reminded him. “Otherwise you’d wear wrinkled shirts with ketchup all over them to work everyday and be fueled by espresso until lunch.”

Jack threw a french fry at him and he caught it before it hit his really expensive suit. He loved this ‘thing’ of theirs. Their banter. Nathan pointing out he was being stupid, insults without negativity behind them. He fell in love with him more and more every day. “I stayed in a lot of motels as a Marshall. I have experience with motels.” 

“ _That_ sounds like a  _ really _ high standard to measure against-- the cheap motels the government used for housing transported fugitives. Yeah, feeling a five star rating on those. They’ll waive the PhD requirement based on  _ that _ experience alone.”

“PhD in  _ hotel management _ ?” Jack scoffed. “For real? You’re telling me Beverley had one?”

“She had plenty of experience using government funded accommodations to bed guests.” Nathan cocked an eyebrow and Jack grimaced. They had been given the offer to sample the ‘hospitality’ at Beverly’s. 

“Fine.” Jack said. “There is a need for a maintenance guy at the Eureka Retirement Home.”

“Considering the last time you went there you made out with a wheelchair-bound elderly resident and gave her boyfriend my Nobel Prize, I think you’ve done enough damage at the retirement community to remove yourself from consideration.” Nathan took another french fry and made a show of putting it in his mouth. He still didn’t have his Nobel back.

“Spenser’s old job at Henry’s is the only thing left.” Jack said. “I can fix my own Jeep, save some money!”

“Jeep goes with the job.” Nathan reminded him. “No badge, no Jeep. No one else wants that old thing but you.”

“Oh.” Jack said and looked out the window of Cafe Diem at his Sheriff’s car. He wasn’t expecting the little things to bother him so much. He loved that car. 

“Jack, why don’t you let me handle this?” Nathan said as he looked out the window, like he was going to lose an old love. He too had an emotional attachment to a machine and he couldn’t fault him for that. “I have calls into the D.O.D. and will fly to Washington this weekend to meet with them. I have research they want access to and if I step down I can focus on it.”

“Research?” Jack said and let his eyes go back to the man across the table from him. Nathan’s eyes darted down to the pile of fries. “Like _ Artifact  _ research? Or…. _ A.I. _ research?”

“All of the above.”

“Nathan.” Jack shook his head. “You haven’t given that up for a reason! You can’t give them technology you’re afraid will be used inappropriately. I don’t want you trading morally questionable things to save our relationship.”

“You can’t stop progress Jack. No matter what, science will still push forward. If it’s not my name on it now, it will be someone else's down the road.” Nathan swallowed hard and added, “I’m being sentimental anyway, I never did figure out what made Callister special. The odds of me getting the same results when I pick up that project again are so slim…”

“No.” Jack said and threw himself back to the booth and placed both hands on the table. “ _ God dammit _ Nathan, you don’t exactly have the highest ethical standards to start with and now you’re going to lower them to No-Tell Motel levels?”

Nathan smiled. “Love you too, Jack.”

“It’s not a good trade, Nathan. I don’t want you being the Nobel prize guy who felt guilty about his dynamite and ended up using his fortune for prizes to reward people who didn’t blow shit up.”

Nathan groaned and leaned on the table pressing his hand into his forehead. He _loved_ Jack Carter and oddly enough _this_ dumb shit he said was the reason why. “I doubt an A.I. robot is going to make me the next  _ Alfred Noble _ . They’re robots, they can save lives. If anything I am putting their value above humans by not continuing my research.”

“I want you to be my trophy husband, not hand out trophies for the Stark Foundation after you have a breakdown for creating robots that the government manages to use for evil.” Jack exclaimed.

Nathan chuckled. How quickly they had accepted they were going to spend the rest of their lives together.

“You think this is funny? It’s plausible, is what it is!” Jack said and grabbed his glass and raised it in a mock toast. “I wanted to thank you all for coming here today to celebrate the achievements of scientists looking to prevent global domination by robots. On behalf of my better half, who can’t be here today because he caused the apocalypse and is in the hot tub wallowing in his guilt, thank you all for refusing to bow down to our robot overlords and fighting the good fight for humanity.”

“I’m laughing because you just stumbled on the solution.” Nathan said. “Like you always do.”

“Oh? You’re going to use your money to start a Stark Award instead of buying stupidly expensive Scotch and clothes?”

“No.” Nathan snorted. “We’re going to buy a plane ticket to Las Vegas and get married.”

“Do you even know me?” Jack said with a derisive snort.

“Fine. I’ll drive ,but you better shut your mouth about my speed because the alternative is flying.” Nathan illustrated that by throwing a french fry at Jack. He couldn't believe he was throwing food, what had this man done to him?

“Would that work?” Jack asked. “Can they annul our marriage if the auditor guy says we’re a risk?”

“The D.O.D. is mostly military and very conservative. Ordering us to divorce is a bit much, even for them.”

“Oh, so they’ll be cool with the  _ gay _ marriage part and the part where we ignore the auditor’s findings and elope?” 

“They will be if I give them a robot hell bent on global domination.”

“I’m going to change oil and pump gas at Henry’s.” Jack said and then added. “Hey, he has a theft problem in his little convenience store too. That Perkins kid stole a chocolate bar. I might be able to work my way up the ladder to security.”

Nathan shook his head, there was only one solution to this predicament and it was a good one. He grabbed another one of the curly fries off the plate, slid out of the booth and got down on one knee. He grabbed Jack’s hand as Cafe Diem went silent. “Jack Carter, will you marry me?”

“What?”

“God dammit.” Nathan sighed. “We were  _ just  _ talking about this.”

“We were talking about having Elvis marry us and now you,  _ Nathan Stark _ , are proposing with a potato ring. Is the ‘Stupid Chicken’ sandwich today’s special again?”

“I am on my knee, asking you to  _ marry me _ and it has nothing to do with chicken.” Nathan said the words slowly and tugged on Jack’s hand to get his attention as he turned to inspect what he had for lunch. Jack narrowed his eyes and studied his face, obviously seeing his exasperated look of frustration and accepting it as enough evidence of his intelligence and sanity. Then came the look of confusion as he switched from investigative mode to personal mode and genuinely locked his brain up. This was..them. This was the absurdity that was the two of them in a relationship, the outrageous chemical reaction when two different elements came together to unite as one. And it was perfect. As was Jack’s look of confusion. “Jack!”

“What!”

“Answer the question.” Nathan demanded using his authoritative voice and it brought him out of his confusion. He softened up as soon as Jack seemed to be functional again. “ Will you marry me? Yes or No?”

Jack focused on him and realized this was absolutely genuine. He nodded and finally found the word, “Yes.”

“Good, have your french fry and I swear to God you better not keep this.” Nathan put the fry on his finger and Jack looked at it like it was made of gold. 

“I’m keeping it.” Jack said. 

“I’m keeping you.” Nathan said and got off his knee and leaned over to kiss Jack as Cafe Diem exploded in applause. “Also will throw out that fry it’s still around next week.”

“Not if you can’t find it.”

“That’s…. not helping.” Nathan shoved him over in the booth and sat beside him, kissing him as he pushed him towards the wall to make room beside him.

Vincent finally screamed, “People, it’s really happening! This is not a drill!!”

Warren Hughes sat alone in a booth by the window, witnessing it all. Nathan Stark in his expensive wool suit kneeling on the floor with a french fry to propose to Jack Carter. A smile of joy on his face, a smile that said that this was right and forever. The cafe was filled with people of Eureka, the people who worked for Global and lived under the laws of Eureka, and they were overjoyed with the news. He felt overwhelmed with emotion as well and tears began rolling down his cheeks and dropping onto his notepad. The ink began to bleed as it got wet. He shook his head, he had made the wrong decision.

“We should go.” Nathan said.

“Go...celebrate?” Jack asked coyly.

“Go... _ get married _ ?”

“Oh?”  _ Now! _ ?” Jack said. “Like ask Henry?”

“Not fair to get him involved in case this blows up on us.”

“You’re really going to be OK with Elvis marrying us?” Jack said incredulously. “First the potato ring and now drive thru Elvis? Who  _ are you _ ?”

“Oregon requires a three day waiting period for marriage.” Nathan said. “I know that from my first marriage.”

“California has no wait time. No issues with same sex or non resident.” Jack said. “San Francisco is only 7 hours away, 5 if I let you drive.”

Nathan smirked at him. There were serious perks to dating a cop. He knew the laws of any state he stepped in. The baseball fan in him knew how long it would take to travel to a stadium. “Are you expecting me to take you to a  _ ball game _ tonight?”

“You _ are _ the romantic one.” Jack said. “We leave now we can catch the game, spend the night and get hitched in the morning. Take a couple personal days. Use them before we get fired.”

“Meet me at my place in an hour.” Nathan said. 

“We’re  _ really _ doing this?” Jack said. 

“Jack, it’s not how I wanted things to go but I don’t feel we have another option.” Nathan said. “Truly a situation of better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.”

“Neither one of those are plausible for you.” Jack snorted in amusement. “If the D.O.D. can make you beg, I want to get my Hospitality Management Degree from them.”

Nathan smirked at him. “I thought I was doing the education on that topic.”

“How did you want things to go?” Jack asked, returning to his previous statement. “You want a fancy wedding, don’t you?. You want to wear a tux and sing Africa to me in front of the entire town?”

“Not exactly one of the fantasies I entertained.” Nathan said. “Tux yes. I think you deserve the full ‘trophy husband’ look. I’d like to force you to buy a suit from this decade. I’d like everyone to be jealous of what I have.”

“Ass.” Jack said.

Nathan flickered a smirk and said, “Yeah, you can have that too.”

“You’re being very lewd for being out in public.” Jack said. “You’re trying to distract me. Get me off the topic. Get me naked. You really do want the wedding, don't you?”

“We can always get remarried here. Have a nice wedding, reception, family and friends….” Nathan looked away, Jack could read him too well. Yeah, he wanted the full experience, but they didn't have time for that.

“It feels wrong, leaving everyone out who supported us.” Jack said. “Leaving the town out of it, I mean. Especially since we’re doing this to stay together, here, in Eureka. Especially because we are together because of Eureka.”

“I know.” Nathan said and knew this wasn’t going to happen. Even if they got out of town they would make it an hour down the road, at best, before Jack turned sad blue eyes to him and backed out. He couldn't blame him, this felt like cheating. Not cheating the audit or the D.O.D., but themselves. They were missing out on all the excitement of getting married and rushing past experiences he skipped the first time. Experiences he didn’t want to miss out on because this time, this time it was forever. There would be no I do over. “Or we can just stay here and watch the game at your place and celebrate with Zoe and S.A.R.A.H and let Jo start planning the wedding.”

Jack smiled at him. “How long did you give me before I asked you to turn around?”

“An hour.”

“Generous.”

“I figured I’d gain at least ten minutes while you lectured me about the speed limit.”

Jack smiled and leaned into him. “I don’t think you would have let me in your car with a greasy tater on my finger.”

“I planned to suck it off.”

Jack tried not to laugh but it was pointless. He closed his eyes and rolled his head against Nathan’s shoulder until the fits of laughter stopped and he was able to compose himself. When he opened his eyes he saw a shadow come to the table and had to rub away some tears to be able to focus on that person. It was Warren, and that killed the moment. “Oh, hey..um..I’m still working on my resignation letter.”

“Mine’s done.” Nathan said and he was surprised when Dr. Hughes slid into the booth across from them.

Jack grabbed Nathan's hand and squeezed it hard. He didn’t want him to quit. he was so proud of him and impressed with what he could accomplish, he needed to stay where he was.

“I’ve reviewed my appraisal.” Warren said. 

“Oh?” Jack said, taking his hand back. He started playing with the french fry ring on his finger. 

“In addition to some rather persuasive arguments in your favor.”

“Oh?” Nathan asked. Someone besides Henry had argued in their favor?

“I think, your past together indicates you’re capable of working through some difficult issues. Your records prove you can put aside your personal differences and work together.”

“What about loving each other too much?” Nathan asked.

“If you’re willing to quit your jobs to get married, I think you’re equally inclined to fight for your jobs when you are married. I think you’ll come together and be stronger, to preserve the life you want here and protect it. The government has a lot to gain from that kind of relationship.”

“Glad to be of service.” Jack said dryly.

“I’ve reversed my decision.” Warren said. “Nobody in their right mind would keep the two of you apart.”

“Huh?” Jack said.

“You guys, you’re perfect together.” Warren said, tears in his eyes.

"What!?" Jack asked and stared at him. This had to be some kind of Eureka thing, first Nathan plays with his food and then Warren starts crying about how much they love each other? There had to be a thing.....no a device. Or that chicken lady was getting into produce and not just poultry. 

“Okay, I was not expecting that.” Nathan said, experiencing a rare moment of absolute confusion.

“What were you expecting? The Spanish Inquisition?” Warren laughed. 

“Well, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.” Jack said, without missing a beat. 

“Can we have that in writing?” Nathan asked. “As well as submitted to the D.O.D. immediately?”

“Already done.” Warren said and opened his briefcase, handing to them signed copies of his appraisal. “Now, did I hear you were getting married? I could officiate that.”

“Ah….” Jack looked over the document he was just given as Nathan did the same. It was legit and he really didn't want to question it anymore. “Actually, I was hoping Henry could do that.”

“I understand.” Warren said. “Well, it’s been a pleasure.”

Jack looked at him quizzically as he got up, took one last look at them and left. He immediately looked to Nathan for an explanation.

“I have no idea.” Nathan admitted. “However, in this instance, I’m not sure I want to know.”

  
  


* * *

“How did  _ you _ know?” Nathan asked as he watched Henry finish getting dressed for his own wedding. “You seemed so certain that Jack and I would be good together, I can’t fathom how you knew.”

“Neither of you are as subtle as you think you are.” Henry said. “The glances. The smiles. You had no reason to work with him as much as you did. You fought him and gave him what he was missing from his old job, I think that’s why he stayed. You spoke the same language, sarcasm. You looked forward to seeing each other, it was more than animosity and competition.”

“Still, that’s a long way from knowing we’d even consider dating more or less spend our lives together.” Nathan said as he sat in a chair and felt a little nostalgia for the days when he was the student asking Henry to share his knowledge with him. Before his ego got in the way.

“He made you love science again, Nathan.” Henry said and turned to look at his old student as he sat in a chair and played with his own hand. Nathan never could get control of that nervous habit. “Even if it you thought, in the beginning, that it was to prove how intelligent you were...you enjoyed explaining it. You enjoyed his approach to the scientific method, because his path took you to different conclusions than your own.” 

“Not really answering my question, Henry.”

“He opened your eyes and saw through you.” Henry summarized. “That’s what you were looking for in the Artifact, wasn’t it? A deeper understanding? Knowledge? A connection?”

Nathan mulled over Henry’s words. He had never considered his search for answers to be a search for purpose and self. However as he looked up as Jack arrived, after going home to change, he realized that was exactly what he had been searching for. His answer to life, the universe and everything was...  _ wearing the wrong damned suit. _ “Are you colorblind? I said the black suit. That’s _brown_.”

“You get to dress, and undress, me for  _ our _ wedding.” Jack said defiantly. “This is Henry’s wedding. I get to wear my brown suit which...happens to not have left over cake from the Christmas party permanently fused into its pocket.”

“How?” Nathan demanded. “ _ How _ are you an adult?”

“Well, we were doing  _ adult _ things...” Jack said and raised his eyebrows to remind Nathan of that particular party and how he didn’t sit on  _ Santa’s _ lap that night. “And I put the cake in my pocket because I had to put it somewhere because….my mouth was occupied.”

“See, this is why running the Bed and Breakfast was never going to happen.” Nathan said and stood up, went over to Jack and straightened his tie. “Rodents Of Unusual Size would be all over the damned place cleaning up after you.”

“Was he  _ the guy _ ?” Jack asked, excited that Nathan was going to cave and admit he was right about that eerie similarity. “Was the auditor guy the dude from Princess Bride?”

“No.” 

“Because I am down for you wearing that Don Diego outfit and being the dread pirate Nathan.” Jack thought about it. “Or would _ I  _ be wearing that so you could be…”

“Jack. Later.” Nathan placed a kiss on his forehead as Henry laughed and placed a small velvet box in his hand to give to Jack. “You need to take the wedding ring, not screw this up, and make a good speech at the reception. Can you do that without quoting any movies or referencing anything inappropriate we may have done together?”

”I’m good at speeches.” Jack said. “You’ll find out when we get home and there is something gold and round on our bed.”

“That damned french fry is  _ on our bed _ ?” Nathan hissed. 

“Oh  _ that _ , that you will _never_ find.” Jack laughed. “Your Nobel, however, is waiting for you so you can find it a place on our mantle. You probably should move in with us now that we’re engaged.”

“You stole it from the old folks home?” Nathan asked, kinda impressed with the romantic gesture. Even though it was Jack's idea to give it away to begin with.

“No, I made out with Eugenia again.” Jack said with a smirk of his own. “She digs the brown suit.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes at him. How was this man so perfect for him?  _ How _ ? "Yeah, well she was a young girl when this was in fashion."

“I gave a speech.” Jack informed him as he readjusted his tie that didn't need to be fixed, just because that was his thing. “To Dr. Thatcher. I awarded him with something way more precious, the first award from the Stark Foundation: _I_ _ n the form of a check. _ The guy has a wedding of his own to pay for.”

“Oh.” Nathan said. Well there was a simple solution.

“I got a golden ring of starch and you can have your golden ring of Stark.” Jack said with a shrug. “I didn’t really know what else to get you because the french fry thing was really more a move out of my book than yours."

Henry watched Nathan pull him in to a kiss and decided to slip out of the room. He smiled as he left to get ready to marry the woman he loved. Things were back to how they should be and he knew it was time to turn the memory wiper on himself and remove the final traces of timelines gone wrong, to ensure these once in a lifetime loves stayed that way. He didn't doubt this was how things were meant to be, it was time to enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still hung up on the way Nathan interacted with Jack and Allison in the Once in a Lifetime episode. He KNEW things. What were we denied!? 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment, talk at me in messages, even if you just want to talk about this show. I miss this show.


End file.
